Blog

Star Trek Actor Anton Yelchin’s Jeep Was Included in Recalll

Deirnesa Jefferson6 months ago

Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin’s death could be tied to a recent recall for Jeep vehicles issued by Fiat Chrysler, according to new reports.

About the Fatal Accident

Anton Yelchin, 27, died in an unusual and horrifying incident early Sunday morning when his SUV—a Jeep Grand Cherokee—was left in neutral and apparently rolled down his driveway when he was outside of it, crushing him between the vehicle and a mailbox.

The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that the car that rolled into and killed Anton Yelchin was a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, a model that Fiat Chrysler recently recalled after its unconventional gear shift led to several documented rollaway accidents.

The investigation into Yelchin's death is ongoing, and authorities are still trying to determine the exact cause of the wreck.

Fiat Chrysler said in a recall notice that the shifter confusion had led to 41 injuries. The recall includes about 812,000 vehicles in the U.S.

About the Gear Shift Recall

The gear shift's design makes it hard to tell what gear the vehicle is in. Unlike most gear selectors, which are in forward or back positions depending on whether the car is in Park, Reverse, Neutral or Drive, the gear selector in these vehicles always remains upright. The driver moves it forward or back to select a gear but it then returns to its original upright position.

In testing, the NHTSA found that the electronic gear shifter's operation is “not intuitive” and offers “poor tactile and visual feedback to the driver, increasing the potential for unintended gear selection.”